1978

1978 was the 1,977th year of the Common Era and the seventh year of the 1970s.

Events

 * Operation King Dragon is launched in Burma by the military dictatorship of Ne Win against Rohingya people on 6 February.
 * On 19 February, Egypt and Cyprus engage in a shootout at the Larnaca International Airpot when Egyptian special forces launch an unauthorized operation to free several Arab hostages by Greek assassins.
 * Ethiopia's Derg and Cuba fight against Somalia in the Ogaden region, the site of the Ogaden War.
 * On 11 March, 38 Israeli civilians are killed in a raid by Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) terrorists based in southern Lebanon in the "Coastal Road Massacre". In response, the Israel Defense Forces invade southern Lebanon and reach as far as the Litani River in "Operation Litani". The Israeli operation ends after the United States threatens to sever diplomatic ties as a result of the Israeli Air Force using US-supplied cluster bombs for offensive instead of defensive purposes.
 * On 25 April, President Mohammed Daoud Khan of Afghanistan is overthrown in a coup d'état by Hafizullah Amin and Afghan communists with assistance from the Soviet Union. The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan takes power from the Daoud Republic of Afghanistan, leading to a crisis in the country that leads to the deployment of Soviet Army troops to the region.
 * The South African Army launches its first major assault at the Battle of Cassinga against the SWAPO during the Angolan Civil War, winning a great victory.
 * Mercenary Bob Denard leads a coup d'état against Ali Soilih in the Comoros, seizing power for himself.
 * President Ahmad al-Ghashmi of North Yemen is assassinated in an explosion at a meeting with his South Yemeni counterpart Salim Ali Rubai on 24 June 1978; just three days later, Rubai is also assassinated in a coup.
 * On 30 June, Ethiopia begins a massive offensive in Eritrea against freedom fighters in the Eritrean War of Independence, supported by Cuba.
 * The Solomon Islands gain their independence from the United Kingdom on 7 July, followed by Dominica on 3 November.
 * The Camp David Accords agreements between President Anwar Sadat of Egypt and Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin of Israel begin in Washington DC, United States.
 * Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq becomes President of Pakistan a year after overthrowing the socialist president Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
 * Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul I die within 33 days of each other. Pope John Paul II is elected that same year, the first year with three popes since 1605.
 * A mass suicide occurs at Jonestown, Guyana as preacher Jim Jones orders his followers to drink poisoned flavor aid.
 * Vietnam launches a massive offensive against Cambodia's Khmer Rouge government during the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia, leading to the intervention of China at the behest of Cambodia and the Soviet Union supporting Vietnam against their Chinese enemies.
 * The Soviet Union's nuclear stockpile supersedes the US stockpile.
 * Francoist Spain transitions to democracy under King Juan Carlos I of Spain and Prime Ministers elected by the people after the constitution is ratified.